On Being Emotional

I have to admit that I consider myself a pretty private person – almost to a fault. I try to keep my emotions and opinions in check most of the time. My family and oldest friends would flatly disagree about that but even so, when it comes to social media I make every attempt to stay, well, “social”. I avoid the rants, politics, drama that seem to call Facebook home. But in a rare moment this week I felt the need to protest the antics of Go Daddy and the horrible ad they intended to show during the Super Bowl. (I have no intention of posting the link to the video here.)

Most of us know only too well the horror stories from animal rescue and Go Daddy’s blatant disregard for animal welfare really shocked, angered, and saddened me. And this from a company that I had already walked away from after the elephant travesty. This was too much. And even though tacky and distasteful seem to be par for the course for that company, I was still floored. And I guess it was good that I was still surprised.

I want to continue to be shocked when witnessing horrible behavior. I never want to get to the point where I expect bad things and bad decisions, even from company notorious for both.

I want to continue to expect goodness and compassion and doing right.

I want colleagues, not “competitors”. Friends, not “customers”. Partners, not “co-workers”.

I’ve been called “too sensitive” and been told “you shouldn’t think about it”. Sometimes I wish I could turn it off. But I can’t. I’m an optimist, an idealist, a dreamer and horrible deeds have a profound effect.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no pushover but I’m selective about where I direct my passion because it requires 100% of my heart, soul, energy… being. And animal welfare is definitely on my list of things that deserve 100%. It gives. It takes. It is a roller coaster minute by minute – even with the minor role that I play – and watching someone laugh in the face of it was more than any decent person should be expected to endure.

I want to be real on these pages. If I’m going to ask you to trust me with your memories, I would love for you to get to know me. So yes, sometimes I use exclamation points.